Steps you, the client, can take to ensure success before, during, and after your marketing software project.

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Developed By:
Covalent Marketing September 2015
Project Success
Steps you, the client, can take to
ensure success before, during, and
after your marketing software project.

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Client Success
Click to read the entire Client Success Introduction Blog Post
Once a consulting
teams leaves, clients
are often left
wondering who will
ensure continued
success?
The answer to who, is YOU! You and the team of rock stars you have hired are the
lynchpin to success.
The following presentation will prepare you, the client, for continued success once
your consulting team leaves.

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This Presentation Will Review
Click to read the entire Client Success Introduction Blog Post
 Change Management
True change management takes 12-18 months, the bulk
of which happens once the consultants leave
A quick and easy checklist to ensure that your project is
successful from day one Preparation
The who, how, and what of creating a team to carry
success beyond the consulting project Your Teams
The fearless leaders of improvement - their insight and
planning is the pillar to positive change Project Leadership
The most important step! Find out why to not even
think about skipping the current state evaluation Starting the Project Right

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Be Prepared
 Using the teams defined in the next slide, identify team
members’ roles on each team
 Hold a team meeting to announce the project and review:
• Purpose and goals
• Timeline
• Roles and responsibilities
 Send out a follow up email with the project details
 Collect any preliminary documentation that the
consulting team has requested
 Create/Request any network access logins and file sharing
needs for the consulting team
 Have a work space reserved for the consulting team
Click to read the entire Client Success Be Prepared Blog Post
Prepare your teams for their workload while also kicking off the project on a positive
note by following this checklist:
There may be unique items that will need to be added to
the checklist. Make adjustments as needed to fit your
culture and end goals. After all, this is your project.

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Meet Your Teams
Click to read the entire Client Success Your Teams Blog Post
Stakeholders
• Departmental decision
makers
• Marketing leaders that
will own processes,
best practices, and
technologies that the
consulting project
team will develop
• Understand the project
vision and scope, and
how the project will
effect change for their
team
• Heavily involved with
high level workshops,
milestone reviews, and
milestone approvals
Steering Committee
• Comprised of cross
functional leaders
• Project decision
makers
• Understand the scope
of the project the
consulting team is
executing
• Have a view of all
projects and how those
projects will impact
larger initiatives for all
marketing capabilities
• Able to help guide the
client teams on post
project success with
their breadth of insight
Execution Committee
• Execute the day to day
marketing activities
• Critical in making a
process run smoothly
• Provide crucial details
and insights for Current
State Evaluation
• Established as essential
team members in
completion of all
phases of the project
Project Manager
• Coordinates meetings
and reviews documents
for the consulting team
• Works with the
consulting project
manager to ensure
timeline and budget
are on track
• Assists the project
team in navigating
internal company
politics
• Provides insight into
the organization as a
whole
The investment with your consulting team is to get
things up and running, but it is vital to have your own
teams in place to further carry the vision and purpose of
the initiative.

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Project Leadership
Click to read the entire Client Success Leadership Blog Post
1. Be Bold
You are investing in
change, so dare to
change. Don’t make a
decision because it will
be easier on your
team, make decisions
that are a means to
the desired end.
2. Be Consistent
Lead by example. Being
consistently active and
present communicates
the importance of a
project. Conversely,
being sporadic in
participation sends
mixed signals to the
team that looks to you
for direction.
3. Make time
Marketing technology
projects are a huge
investment. Thus, attend
meetings, answer emails,
and address concerns. Both
the consulting team and
your team need your time.
4. Set Metrics
Work with the consulting
team to create success
metrics and then make
your team accountable
for the success. This will
also help the consulting
team know what tools to
leave behind.
5. Create a vision
Create a vision in
partnership with your
consulting team and share
your vision with your
internal team. They want
to know why they are
doing something and how
they can help.
Positive change is in the hands of the client leadership team. These 5 practices should
be adopted by the client leadership team to allow for smooth handoff:

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Current State
The first step in creating a successful project is having a sturdy understanding of what
the problem is. This is why the current state evaluation is critical – without it, there
can be detrimental knowledge gaps in the project, compromising the value of the
solution, and ultimately the success of the project.
The Current
State
Evaluation is
divided into 5
critical
components:
Click to read the entire Client Success Current State Blog Post
Interview every person involved (or a
representative from each group involved) with the
project across the organization
1
2
3
4
5
Develop project framework and expectations
between both teams
Outline project success metrics
Share findings from evaluation, recommend future
state and an approach for how to get there
Assess findings to identify the current state

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Change Management
8
Click to read the entire Client Success Change Management Blog Post
Use the Marketing
Mastery program to
complete the final
steps for success
long after the
project hand off.
Apply Kotter’s 8 Steps for Leading Change. By following this client success
guide, the first 3 steps are done in the consulting project itself.
1 2 3
4 5 6 7 8

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Change Management
9
Image for
removing
barriers
Image for
accelerati
on
Find the enthusiasts
and SMEs that will
constitute your army
Mastery pillars
designed to identify
and remove barriers
Attain short term wins
through achieving first
level of mastery
Accelerate growth by
encouraging and
rewarding change
Outline path to adopt
change through
mastery levels
Mastery can help you achieve the final 5 steps in Kotter’s 8 steps of change in the following ways:
4 5 6 7 8
Marketing Mastery is a combination of change management, education, and user adoption
that allows people to attain increasing levels of skills across various categories and creates
lasting results. This program facilitates the final steps of Kotter’s 8 steps of change
management
Click to read the entire Client Success Change Management Blog Post

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People are always looking for the
single magic bullet that will totally
change everything. There is no
single magic bullet.
~ Temple Grandin
Your success comes down to direct partnership between you, the client,
and the consulting team. But even with a perfect partnership, the work
completed becomes moot if you are not prepared to take charge of
change when your consultants leave. The tools outlined here are ones
we have found to be critical in forging a successful project.

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